Energy and Jobs

Jobs are of great importance in any economy. Employment opportunities are a key consideration in planning for a low-carbon economy. Many governments have prioritised renewable energy development, firstly to reduce emissions and meet international climate goals, but also in pursuit of broader socio-economic benefits. As the energy transition accelerates, job gains and losses can be expected as economic structures evolve. Jobs represent a tangible benefit that gives people a stake in this transformation, and therefore promises to raise its political acceptance.

Renewable energy employment worldwide has continued to grow since IRENA initiated its annual review; the first edition of the Review estimated 7.3 million jobs in 2012. The tenth edition of IRENA’s series, Renewable energy and jobs: Annual review 2023, produced in collaboration with the International Labour Organization (ILO), estimates at least 13.7 million jobs in renewable energy employment globally.

The various editions of this report series discuss employment trends by renewable energy technology and by country, and include highlights of important topics such as decentralised solutions or gender. The series also touches upon how employment generation rides on countries’ abilities to build and strengthen domestic supply chains, and some have successfully leveraged local capabilities to that end.

Following an initial standalone report in 2013, IRENA launched this series to provide regular updates to its assessment of renewable energy employment worldwide. In addition to updating IRENA’s job findings, the latest report highlights industrial policy initiatives in selected countries to localize value creation, and discusses perspectives and actions on just transition by governments, employers, and labour unions.

Key global findings:

• 13.7 million: Worldwide employment in renewable energy in 2022, up from 12.7 million in 2021. Close to two-thirds of all jobs are in Asia, where China alone accounts for 41% of the global total.
• 4.9 million: Jobs in solar photovoltaic (PV) in 2022, the fastest-growing sector, accounting for more than a third of the total renewable energy workforce. Women hold 40% of these jobs.
• 1.4 million: Jobs in wind power in 2022. China and Europe lead, although the geography of component production is becoming increasingly diverse.
• 2.5 million: Direct jobs in hydropower in 2022, 2.3% more than in 2021. Operation and maintenance represent almost two-thirds of the direct jobs, 30% of the jobs are related to construction and installation, and about 6% are in component manufacturing.
• 2.5 million: Jobs in biofuels in 2022, mostly in the agricultural supply chain.

• Decentralised solutions provide reliable power and employment in remote areas. Small-scale hydropower, for instance, requires anywhere from 17 000 person-days (for a pico plant, which averages 5 kilowatts [kW]), to about 64 000 person-days (for a 50 kW micro plant), to over 160 000 person-days (for a 500 kW mini plant) for initial planning and equipment procurement and manufacturing, installation, connection, ongoing operation and maintenance, all the way to eventual decommissioning.
• Vulnerability to global supply chain disruptions, along with geopolitical rivalries, is driving a new interest in industrial policy measures to build and strengthen local capacities and secure related job creation benefits.
• Education and training must be expanded to prevent the widening of skill gaps. They must be paired with efforts to build a diverse workforce, tapping talent among under-represented groups, including women, youth and minorities.
• Labour rights and social dialogue are indispensable for an energy transition that produces just outcomes and secures workers’ prospects.

Achieving the energy transition in a manner consistent with climate stability requires much faster renewables deployment, in turn creating more jobs. But it also demands broader, systemic change – moving beyond the pursuit of endless economic growth incompatible with planetary limits. These changes can only be brought about through the adoption of a comprehensive and holistic policy framework. It must be guided by an understanding that the energy sector is essential to all human activity across the economy, but also that the economy must serve human well-being, and that all societies depend on the integrity of the planet’s ecosystems.

Read the visual story on the Decade of progress: Renewables jobs on the rise.